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Craigellachie 13 Year Old

The Craigellachie distillery was founded by one Alexander Edward who bought the land from his father David, owner of Benrinnes distillery at the time. Working with Peter Mackie of White Horse, Alexander’s new distillery was producing spirit by 1891 but the young man’s vision was far from complete.

When Alexander’s father passed away in 1893, he inherited Benrinnes distillery and created a consortium to whom he sold it for £32,000. At the age of just 29, the young man was something of a celebrity with a record of his 1894 travels to Tangiers and Morroco published in the National Guardian.

Upon his return to Craigellachie, Alexander became driven with a desire to capitalise on the growing tourism trade and after purchasing the local brick and tile works, he began constructing a range of villas which could be rented out for the summer, culminating in the construction of the Craigellachie Hotel which gave wealthy English tourists a base of class and sophistication from whence to enjoy the local countryside.

Edward went on to build Aultmore, Benromach and the Dallas Dhu distillery while his first venture, Craigellachie, eventually came to be owned by the famous blender Dewar’s & Sons in 1998.

Throughout it’s history, the Craigellachie spirit has predominantly been used as blend fodder, but in 2014 a new range of single malt bottlings were unveiled. The 13 year old is bottled at 46% ABV and is available in the UK for around £45 a bottle.